Syrian security forces backed by tanks have launched fresh assaults, killing at least 52 people and wounding dozens of others on Sunday, Arab media reported.
The death toll continues to rise. Syrian forces are "using tanks, machine guns and armored vehicles as they storm the city," San Francisco Chronicle reported quoting Mahmoud Merhi, head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights.
The attack came hours after UN leader Ban Ki-moon told Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who has been refusing to take his calls, to immediately end his deadly military campaign against opponents.
The U.S. Department of State urged its citizens on Saturday to leave Syria immediately amid the ongoing violent clashes in the country between the government and protesters.
The travel warning came as Syrian troops and tanks continued their assault on the eastern city of Hama, a centre of opposition protest, where some 300 people were killed for the past several days.
More than 1,600 civilians are thought to have been killed since protests against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad began in March.
